DIY or Paint Removal Service?

Adding a fresh coat of paint to liven up a room or give a place that ‘update’ it needs has long been the domain of do it yourself (DIY) warriors Australia wide. Nothing distinguishes a stereotypical proud new home owner more than paint stained clothes and bright new walls. Painting is generally the first point of call for any budding DIY warrior simply because it seems easy to do and a simply coat of paint can do wonders to the appearance of an area.

The question remains however, overcoats and general house painting aside, should you invest in a professional paint removal service or go to DIY route? When is it safe or effective to do it yourself and when should you call in a professional.

When it comes to doing it yourself you have a couple of options:

Paint stripper. Using a paint stripper means brushing the paint stripper onto the paint just like you were painting that area. The harsh chemicals would work away at the old paint, effectively ‘stripping’ it. The downside to this method is that often it can take a lot of time and only really works if there are minimal layers of paint to begin with. Also you need to look at the painting surface itself as pain stripper is really only suitable for wooden furniture and outdoor areas. Stripping paint using this method from a standard wall may damage the wall which could lead to further, more costly issues later down the track.

Sanding. You can also resort to sanding the walls with a rough gritty sand paper or an ‘orbit’ machine sander. The downside to this is the manual effort it requires especially if you attempt to use coarse sand paper. In the event you have or can find a sanding machine, you may run into difficulties reaching tight areas. On top of this, if the paint is lead based, sanding is definitely not an option and something definitely not recommended.

Neither of the above methods are without complications and do not work on all surfaces. Not using the correct method could lead to further, more costly consequences down the track.

If you are an experienced DIY person with years of paint stripping experience under your belt then you probably don’t have a need to read this article. If you are still undecided then a professional paint stripper service may be the best option.